Arnold Among 11 Finalists for NFCA Freshman of the Year

Arnold Among 11 Finalists for NFCA Freshman of the Year

Posted on May 12, 2017
Caylan Arnold – UT / Credit: UT Athletics

KNOXVILLE, Tenn. — Tennessee freshman Caylan Arnold received another major honor on Wednesday as she was one of 11 finalists named for the Schutt Sports/NFCA Division I Freshman of the Year Award.

Arnold is the second player in program history to earn a spot among the 11 finalists for the award, joining Annie Aldrete, who was the co-winner of the award in 2014. The Maryville, Tenn., native was just named the SEC Freshman of the Year on Tuesday.

The right-hander is having a sensational freshman season for the Vols with a 19-7 record, a 1.90 ERA, two saves and 140 strikeouts. Her 19 victories and 140 strikeouts are the most by a UT freshman since Ellen Renfroe has 26 and 259, respectively, in 2011. Even more impressive, eight of Arnold’s wins this season have come against ranked foes, including triumphs over Oklahoma, Alabama and Florida, who have combined to win the past five national championships.

The winner of the NFCA Freshman of the Year Award will be announced on May 30prior to the start of the 2017 Women’s College World Series.

View the complete list of finalists by clicking HERE.

-UT Athletics

 

Chris Young Is Hoping New Single, “Losing Sleep,” Has the Makings of a Winner at Country Radio [Listen]

Chris Young Is Hoping New Single, “Losing Sleep,” Has the Makings of a Winner at Country Radio [Listen]

Posted on May 12, 2017

Chris Young is giving fans the first taste of new music from his upcoming sixth studio album.

Today (May 12), Chris dropped “Losing Sleep,” the first single from the upcoming project. Penned by Chris, Josh Hoge and Chris DeStefano, “Losing Sleep” falls into Chris’ sexy-song wheelhouse a la “Gettin’ You Home” and “I’m Comin’ Over,” mixing an up-tempo beat with PG-13 lyrics. Chris’ longtime fans will immediately recognize his rich baritone, while the production sounds friendly enough for what’s been lighting up the charts recently at country radio.

“You don’t want to make the same song over and over or the same sounds over and over on every record,” said Chris to the Tennessean. “I think it’s still very much me. I don’t think anyone is going to hear it and think it doesn’t sound like me as an artist. It’s very, very forward production wise and definitely once the chorus hits, it’s a tempo. It’s a nice balance, and I think you have to have all of that.”

Check out the new tune below.

Just for Kix: In Honor of Kix Brooks’ Birthday Today, We’re Kix-Starting Things With an 11-Song Playlist

Just for Kix: In Honor of Kix Brooks’ Birthday Today, We’re Kix-Starting Things With an 11-Song Playlist

Posted on May 12, 2017

Kix Brooks is celebrating his 62nd birthday today (May 12). To help celebrate the birth of one-half of the greatest country music duo of all time, Brooks & Dunn, we’ve created a Kix-centric playlist for everyone to enjoy.

1. “Brand New Man” – Brooks & Dunn, 1991

  • Written by Kix Brooks, Ronnie Dunn and Don Cook
  • Title track of Brooks & Dunn’s 1991 debut album
  • Brooks & Dunn’s first No. 1 song

2. “Modern Day Romance” – Nitty Gritty Dirt Band, 1985

  • Written by Kix Brooks and Dan Tyler
  • The Nitty Gritty Dirt Band’s second No. 1 song

3. “Red Dirt Road” – Brooks & Dunn, 2003

  • Written by Kix Brooks, Ronnie Dunn and Mark Wright
  • A title track that went No. 1 for Brooks & Dunn in 2003

4. “Mama Don’t Get Dressed Up for Nothing” – Brooks & Dunn, 1996

  • Written by Kix Brooks, Ronnie Dunn and Don Cook
  • Kix sings lead vocals
  • Reached No. 13 on the Billboard chart

5. “Rock My World (Little Country Girl)” – Brooks & Dunn, 1993

  • Written by Bill LaBounty and Steve O’Brien
  • Kix sings lead vocals
  • No. 2 on Billboard’s Hot Country Songs chart in 1993

6. “Lost and Found” – Brooks & Dunn, 1992

  • Written by Kix Brooks and Don Cook
  • First Brooks & Dunn single to feature Kix singing lead vocals
  • Peaked at No. 6 on Billboard

7. “New To This Town” – Kix Brooks, 2012

  • Written by Kix Brooks, Marv Green and Terry McBride
  • Produced by Kix Brooks and Rascal Flatts’ Jay DeMarcus

8. “Only In America” – Brooks & Dunn, 2001

  • Written by Kix Brooks, Don Cook and Ronnie Rogers
  • No. 1 in 2001

9. “Sacred Ground” – McBride and The Ride, 1992

  • Written by Kix Brooks and Vernon Rust
  • Kix Brooks originally recorded this song for his self-titled solo album in 1989. McBride and the Ride took it to No. 2, the band’s highest chart performance.

10. “My Next Broken Heart” – Brooks & Dunn, 1991

  • Written by Kix Brooks, Don Cook and Ronnie Dunn
  • “My Next Broken Heart” was Brooks & Dunn’s second consecutive No. 1 song following their debut single, “Brave New Man”

11. “You’re Gonna Miss Me When I’m Gone” – Brooks & Dunn, 1995

  • Written by Kix Brooks, Don Cook and Ronnie Dunn
  • Kix sang the lead vocals and earned Brooks & Dunn its 9th No. 1 song

Listen to our “Kix Brooks Birthday Playlist” on your preferred music service!
Spotify – Apple Music – YouTube

photo by Brett Warren/The Greenroom PR

Van Morrison to Be Honored With Lifetime Achievement for Songwriting at Americana Awards

Van Morrison to Be Honored With Lifetime Achievement for Songwriting at Americana Awards

Posted on May 12, 2017

Van Morrison will be presented with the Lifetime Achievement Award for Songwriting at the 2017 Americana Honors and Awards on Sept. 13 at Nashville’s Ryman Auditorium. Van follows in the esteemed footsteps of past winners John Prine, Willie Nelson, John Mellencamp, John Fogerty and more.

Van, who penned such tunes as “Brown Eyed Girl,” “Into the Mystic,” “Domino” and “Gloria,” is a member of the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and the Songwriters Hall of Fame.

Van will also headline Nashville’s Ascend Amphitheater on Sept. 14 with his daughter, Shana Morrison, during the 18th annual Americana Fest. The performance will mark Van’s first show in Nashville in eight years. Tickets for the show go on sale on May 19 at 10 a.m. CT.

Americana Fest will bring more than 200 artists to multiple venues around Music City, including 3rd & Lindsley, The Basement, City Winery, The High Watt, The Cannery Ballroom, Mercy Lounge, The Family Wash, Station Inn, Downtown Presbyterian Church, The 5 Spot and more. The event includes conferences, panels and workshops throughout the week, Sept. 12–17.

In the coming days, Americana Fest will announce additional honorees in their Lifetime Achievement Award categories.

The full list of nominees for the 2017 Americana Honors & Awards show is below.

Album of the Year
American Band – Drive-By Truckers (Produced by David Barbe)
A Sailor’s Guide to Earth – Sturgill Simpson (Produced by Sturgill Simpson)
Close Ties – Rodney Crowell (Produced by Kim Buie and Jordan Lehning)
Freedom Highway – Rhiannon Giddens (Produced David Bither, Rhiannon Giddens and Dirk Powell)
The Navigator – Hurray for the Riff Raff (Produced by Paul Butler)

Artist of the Year
Jason Isbell
John Prine
Lori McKenna
Margo Price
Sturgill Simpson

Duo/Group of the Year
Billy Bragg & Joe Henry
Drive-By Truckers
Marty Stuart & His Fabulous Superlatives
The Lumineers

Emerging Artist of the Year
Aaron Lee Tasjan
Amanda Shires
Brent Cobb
Sam Outlaw

Song of the Year
“All Around You” – Sturgill Simpson (Written by Sturgill Simpson)
“It Ain’t Over Yet” – Rodney Crowell (feat. Rosanne Cash & John Paul White) (Written by Rodney Crowell)
“To Be Without You” – Ryan Adams (Written by Ryan Adams)
“Wreck You” – Lori McKenna (Written by Lori McKenna and Felix McTeigue)

Instrumentalist of the Year
Spencer Cullum Jr.
Jen Gunderman
Courtney Hartman
Charlie Sexton

Zac Brown Gets Back to the “Core of How It All Began” With New Album, “Welcome Home”

Zac Brown Gets Back to the “Core of How It All Began” With New Album, “Welcome Home”

Posted on May 12, 2017

Zac Brown Band’s much-anticipated fifth major-label studio album, Welcome Home, drops today (May 12). It’s a project Zac promised would go “straight back to our roots.”

Zac has kept his word. Following the release of “My Old Man” (Feb. 3), “Real Thing” (March 20), “Family Table” (April 7), “All the Best” (April 21) and “Roots” (May 3), it’s clear that the album is a 180-degree deviation from 2015’s Jekyll + Hyde, which pushed the country boundaries with traces of electronic music, hard rock and big band sounds.

One of the reasons the album feels so rootsy is that it’s ZBB’s first album where all of the songs were written specially for the project.

“This is the first record that I wrote all the songs for this record,” said Zac to Nash Country Daily. “I’ve never done that before. We took a personal approach. We picked different categories and we tried to write a song in that vein. And it was great because after I made my last record, Jekyl + Hyde—that was kind of a concept album to show the range of the band, which I loved doing. It was fun. Then I started my other project, Sir Roselvelt [trio with Zac, Niko Moon and Ben Simonetti]. Doing the more electronic-centered music with that band helped me to get back to a purist approach with Welcome Home. I was invigorated and I had no other pieces of songs that were floating around anywhere. Usually, an album for me is the best collection of songs that I had at the time. Welcome Home is the first one where the songs were written entirely for the album to be personal. I’m really proud of it. I’m really proud to get back to the songs. My favorite music listening to growing up was James Taylor, Jim Croce, Dan Fogelberg—it was amazing guitar parts and harmony and songs that made you feel something. It was great for me to get to come home and make this album. I like to stretch as an artist, but this was great to get back to the core of how it all began.”

Welcome Home Track List

  1. “Roots”
  2. “Real Thing”
  3. “Long Haul”
  4. “2 Places at 1 Time”
  5. “Family Table”
  6. “My Old Man”
  7. “Start Over”
  8. “Your Majesty”
  9. “Trying to Drive”
  10. “All the Best”

Check out a few of ZBB’s new songs below, including “Long Haul,” “2 Places at 1 Time” and “Your Majesty”

ldol Chatter Debunked: Kelly Clarkson Will Join Season 14 of “The Voice” as a Coach

ldol Chatter Debunked: Kelly Clarkson Will Join Season 14 of “The Voice” as a Coach

Posted on May 11, 2017

Leave it to Blake Shelton to get to the bottom of things. After rumors began to swirl that ABC was interested in Kelly Clarkson serving as a judge on its upcoming re-boot of American Idol, Blake dropped a reality TV bombshell on Facebook Live today (May 11).

To kick off the video, Blake said he had “a big announcement to make today.” After more than three minutes of suspense, Blake finally revealed that Kelly—who was invited in to the live video—would be joining The Voice as a coach on Season 14 in Spring 2018.

“I’m so excited to join The Voice at NBC,” Kelly said in a press release. “We’ve gone back and forth about a role as a coach for years, but the timing hasn’t been right until now. I have always loved appearing on the show as an advisor or performer and established an amazing relationship with the network during my Christmas special. I can’t wait to turn my chair and see the faces of up-and-coming artists and provide them with the help and support they’ve needed to break into the industry. Watch out Shelton, I’m comin’ to win!”

Currently, Season 12 of The Voice is in full swing with coaches Blake, Adam Levine, Gwen Stefani and Alicia Keys. Season 13 of The Voice returns this fall with coaches Blake, Adam, Miley Cyrus and Jennifer Hudson.

Watch Blake’s Facebook Live announcement with Kelly below.

Sam Hunt Added as Performer at the 2017 Billboard Music Awards

Sam Hunt Added as Performer at the 2017 Billboard Music Awards

Posted on May 11, 2017

“Body Like a Back Road” singer Sam Hunt will perform at the 2017 Billboard Music Awards on May 21.

Sam joins previously announced performers Florida Georgia Line, Camila Cabello, Drake, Imagine Dragons, John Legend, Lorde, Bruno Mars, Nicki Minaj, Ed Sheeran, The Chainsmokers and Halsey.

While Sam didn’t cop a nomination at this year’s Billboard Music Awards, his current single, “Body Like a Back Road,” has been the No. 1 song on Billboard’s Country Airplay chart for the last three weeks, as well as No. 1 on Billboard’s Hot Country Songs chart for 13 straight weeks.

The Billboard Music Awards will air on May 21 at 8 p.m. on ABC.

Check out all of the country-centric nominations below.

Billboard Chart Achievement Award

Luke Bryan
Nicki Minaj
The Chainsmokers
The Weeknd
Twenty One Pilots

Top Duo/Group

The Chainsmokers
Coldplay
Florida Georgia Line
Guns N’ Roses
Twenty One Pilots

Top Country Artist

Florida Georgia Line
Blake Shelton
Keith Urban
Chris Stapleton
Jason Aldean

Top Country Tour

Luke Bryan
Kenny Chesney
Dixie Chicks

Top Country Album

Jason Aldean, They Don’t Know
Florida Georgia Line, Dig Your Roots
Blake Shelton, If I’m Honest
Chris Stapleton, Traveller
Keith Urban, Ripcord

Top Country Song

Kenny Chesney Featuring Pink, “Setting The World On Fire”
Florida Georgia Line, “H.O.L.Y.”
Florida Georgia Line Featuring Tim McGraw, “May We All”
Little Big Town, “Better Man”
Keith Urban, “Blue Ain’t Your Color”

Top Country Collaboration

Dierks Bentley featuring Elle King, “Different for Girls”
Kenny Chesney featuring Pink, “Setting the World On Fire”
Eric Church featuring Rhiannon Giddens, “Kill a Word”
Florida Georgia Line featuring Tim McGraw, “May We All”
Chris Young featuring Vince Gill, “Sober Saturday Night”

Top Christian Artist

Lauren Daigle
Hillsong Worship
Hillary Scott & the Family
Skillet
Chris Tomlin

Top Christian Album

Casting Crowns, The Very Next Thing
Lauren Daigle, How Can It Be
Joey + Rory, Hymns
Hillary Scott & The Family, Love Remains
Skillet, Unleashed

Top Christian Song

Lauren Daigle, “Trust In You”
Hillary Scott & The Family, “Thy Will”
Skillet, “Feel Invincible”
Ryan Stevenson featuring GabeReal, “Eye Of The Storm”
Zach Williams, “Chain Breaker”

 

 

Snopes Quashes Ridiculous Claim That Florida Georgia Line’s Brian Kelley and Tyler Hubbard Are Getting Married . . . to Each Other

Snopes Quashes Ridiculous Claim That Florida Georgia Line’s Brian Kelley and Tyler Hubbard Are Getting Married . . . to Each Other

Posted on May 11, 2017

Fact-checking website Snopes.com debunked the absurd claim that Florida Georgia Line’s Brian Kelley and Tyler Hubbard were planning to take their bromance to the next level and get married . . . to each other.

According to Snopes, the bogus rumor originated at NC Scooper, an entertainment website that “provides social criticism in a satirical, sometimes news-genre setting.” In other words, NC Scooper deals in fake news, but Snopes still took the time to quash the conjecture with a rating of “FALSE.”

Tyler and Brian formed their FGL duo—not marital union—in 2010.

Brian married Brittney Cole in 2014, while Tyler tied the knot with Hayley Stommel in 2015.

Now, who wants to hear more about FGL’s new Nashville restaurant or the fact they’re teaming up with John Legend at the 2017 Billboard Music Awards?

main photo by Jason Simanek

As “Hurricane” Eyes the No. 1 Spot on the Country Charts, Luke Combs Is Finding More Common Ground With “Super Nice Dude” Eric Church

As “Hurricane” Eyes the No. 1 Spot on the Country Charts, Luke Combs Is Finding More Common Ground With “Super Nice Dude” Eric Church

Posted on May 11, 2017

Let’s play a little Thursday trivia.

How many singles did Eric Church release before reaching No. 1?

Give up? 10. It wasn’t until Eric’s 10th single, “Drink in My Hand,” in 2011 that he scored a Billboard No. 1 tune.

Depending on which way the wind blows, Luke Combs’ debut single, “Hurricane”—currently No. 2—could be the No. 1 country song on Billboard’s Country Airplay chart next week. The tune has already ascended to the top spot on the Mediabase chart for the week of May 4–10.

Why is this relevant? It’s not, really, other than the fact that both Eric and Luke are North Carolina natives who attended college at Appalachian State University in the small town of Boone, N.C. While Luke was attending Appy State in 2009, Eric’s career was really beginning to take off with the release of his sophomore album, Carolina, which spawned Top 10 hits “Love Your Love the Most” and “Hell on the Heart.”

NCD editor Jim Casey and Luke Combs in studio.

“I got my start playing in a bunch of places [around Boone] that Eric used to play,” say Luke to Nash Country Daily. “I’ve heard that Eric played one of his first shows at a place called Woodlands Barbecue. It’s actually in Blowing Rock, North Carolina, which is about a 10-minute drive from Boone. There was a rumor it was the first place he ever played up there. I think he was in a group called the Mountain Boys. And so, I would play there with my buddy, Adam, every Sunday for two hours.

“When Carolina came out in 2009, that was my first year of college. That’s when I got my hands on that record and really fell in love with it. When Chief came out in 2011, I was just picking the guitar up. He did his record release show in Boone that year, actually, for that album. It was 10 bucks and you got a copy of the album when you went to the show. That was  the place to be, man. Now, it’s funny, because I’ve had the chance to meet Eric. I met him in Louisville when he was playing a festival up there, and he’s good buddies with one of my favorite co-writers and a good friend of mine, Jonathan Singleton. They had the same manager for a long time. So me and Jonathan drove up there and got to hang with him, and that was when I was in the midst of trying to figure out where I wanted to go with my record deal. And so we kind of talked about music, and what to look for in a label and how to make that decision. That was really awesome, man. It was a really great experience and he was a super nice dude.”

Luke will drop his debut album, This One’s for You, on June 2. The 12-song offering features a dozen songs that Luke co-wrote.

Luke will also join Brantley Gilbert’s Devil Don’t Sleep Tour on June 2, with dates running through the summer.

Shania Twain’s “Life’s About to Get Good” Featured in New Promo for the 2018 Winter Olympics in South Korea [Watch]

Shania Twain’s “Life’s About to Get Good” Featured in New Promo for the 2018 Winter Olympics in South Korea [Watch]

Posted on May 11, 2017

Luge and curling and bobsled, oh my!

NBC is turning up the heat as they try to get viewers excited about the 2018 Lesser Winter Olympics in PyeongChang, South Korea. And if you want to get people excited about the Winter Olympics, get a Canadian involved . . . get Shania involved.

A new promo for upcoming Games features Shania Twain singing her new song, “Life’s About to Get Good,” which will be released to country radio in June.

“I was at home looking out at the ocean and I said to myself, ‘Here I am stuck in this past of negativity, but it’s so beautiful out. I’m not in the mood to write a feeling-sorry-for-myself song,’” said Shania about penning the new tune. “You can’t have the good without the bad. And that’s what the song ended up being about.”

Check out NBC’s new “Life’s About to Get Good” promo that features Olympians Shaun White, Lindsey Vonn and more.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dwodPQeo-i4

photo by Trae Patton/NBC

 

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